Russkaja: Ready For Change

There is no denying that RUSSKAJA have been on their own personal musical journey during their time as a band, which has been evidently difficult for them to swallow at times. The Austrian ska punk collective have always been heavily inspired by politics and modern affairs in their music. Their journey started 18 years ago and the connotations behind RUSSKAJA‘s band name are pretty fitting, as vocalist Georgij Makazaria explains.

“I had the name in my head for a while before we decided to call our group RUSSKAJA. The ‘Russ’ part of our band name comes from my home country of Russia and the ‘kaja’ section originates from the Russian meaning of ska music. A lot of our influence has come from electronic music.”

As with everything in life, things change in time. Makazaria evidently understands the importance of creating lasting working relationships and realises that people can end up wanting different things in years to come. “The individual members of our band have changed quite significantly over the almost 20 years we have been together, which is to be expected in a way. People end up having different priorities and want to do different things. We have recently introduced saxophone player Nicolò Loro Ravenni into our band, he’s originally from Italy.”

RUSSKAJA are multi-national and extremely proud of their varied heritage. Despite this, they have faced some unprecedented and unexpected challenges in the last year or so. On their most recent seventh studio album Turbo Polka Party, they feature a track named No Borders. Whilst it is predominantly an anti-war single, it is also a marvellous fundraising effort helping to support Ukrainians personally effected by the ongoing Russian invasion. However, it is more than obvious that their political standing isn’t just surface level. All of RUSSKAJA‘s members have been deeply effected by the war, but the conflict has created an inevitably difficult situation both personally and professionally between Russian born Georgij Makazaria and Ukrainian bassist Dimitrij Miller.

“No Borders is an anti-war track. We are letting our fans know that we are definitely against the war. It is difficult because we feel as though the war has impacted our reputation with members coming from Ukraine and Russia, yet we just hope that people will be able to see past that and still be able to enjoy the music and divide music and politics when it comes to choosing to listen to us and enjoying our music. We would love to do future songs like this, perhaps surrounding issues such as greed. We created the No Borders t-shirt with proceeds going to helping Ukrainian refugees. It is devastating, I can’t see my parents or friends back in Russia and other band members can’t see their family. The ongoing situation has really impacted us personally too. I tend not to watch the news now, as the media are just ruthless and don’t necessarily show the bigger picture. There are a lot of us Russians that don’t want the war to happen, but there is such a bias media view regarding the war unfortunately – it’s just not realistic. Sadly, all the war comes down to is money, power and greed – I don’t know why people think this is important. We just want the war to end and make people happy with a rock concert! Let’s hope that it ends soon, even though I feel like it could go on forever.”

Aside from the painful and personal heart-breaking topics of war, RUSSKAJA gain inspiration for their music from pretty much anywhere and anything. Makazaria also states that his inspiration for future tracks can also come from a spur of the moment. “I have a voice recorder on my phone. I have over 700 voice notes on there of melodies to use in future music. My inspiration comes from a lot of things, but also random things inspire me too.”

RUSSKAJA have recently revealed their seventh and now final studio album Turbo Polka Party. Makazaria emphasises that they were mainly inspired by classic British bands such as THE BEATLES when developing the record. “They were a massive influence whilst writing and recording this album. I prefer songs with catchy melodies such as Nowhere Man and Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Maybe we should do a cover of the latter – I keep thinking about that now! One of my favourite songs by THE BEATLES has to be Nowhere Man though. JOHN LENNON’s Imagine is so significant too, it’s such an important song. We could even make Yellow Submarine work for a cover – that would be awesome!”

On one of RUSSKAJA‘s latest tracks Shapka, Makazaria says that nu-metal artists have played a great part in the creation of the song and it’s clearly going down a treat with their fans. “Shapka‘s reception has been amazing from the start. We got influence from bands such as LIMP BIZKIT for this track. We wanted to try something a bit different and it’s a bit of fun, so why not? We included a lot more heavier riffs, so they are definitely a big influence for us. Also, bands like SEPULTURA have had some influence. I tend not to listen to too much music like this though, as the back story behind the songs isn’t for me, I can’t connect with it. I find that electronic music is more my thing, it’s a lot more positive and uplifting.”

Makazaria reflects on how the industry has changed since he started with RUSSKAJA almost two decades ago now. “The music industry has changed so much now. You can post something on TikTok and then become a millionaire almost overnight.” He also has some important advice for those wanting to start out in the industry and make a career out of it. “You have got to be prepared to travel and not see your family for long periods of time. At the end of the day, just have fun – you can’t go into it for the wrong reasons. Fame and money isn’t important, it’s all about having a good time.”

In terms of playing live, it is evidently clear that the band like to have fun on stage, yet always make sure to take their role as musicians seriously at the same time. “You have got to be prepared before playing live for sure. We are all about being prepared for a show and then that way it will definitely go to plan. That way we can be the best we can be and live up to expectation. It is also very important to engage with the audience. As long as we give our fans a good time whilst seeing us in a live setting – that’s what’s important.” When RUSSKAJA go on tour, they are aware that they need to change things up in terms of setlists, yet also realise which tracks always tend to go down well in a live setting. “Whenever we play live, Energia is always the song that everyone wants to hear. We have tried to take it out of the setlist before, but we feel that it doesn’t work. It’s a bit like if THE ROLLING STONES stopped playing Satisfaction – after 60 years or so it still sounds as good as what it did back then. It’s also really important to interact with the crowd, as crowd participation is what it’s all about.”

RUSSKAJA have had a busy few months. They recently toured with Irish Celtic punk group FLOGGING MOLLY; an experience that they hold in high regard. “It is clear that the genre is definitely on the rise, which is great to see. We had a great reception on tour and everyone had fun. It is amazing to be able to show our music to new people and potentially a brand new audience.”

After the sad news of RUSSKAJA‘s split came to light last month, we presume that their originally planned UK/EU tour next month will not go ahead following the announcement. However before the news broke out, Georgij Makazaria emphasised greatly the important campaign that they are trying to promote via their music. “We currently have a No Borders t-shirt on sale with proceeds going to charity for Ukrainian refugees. We have a lot of old backdrops that we have used in past shows, maybe we could make some bags? We probably could get three bags out of one! Keep an eye on our web shop – you will probably see them soon!”

Throughout their prominent 18 years as a band, RUSSKAJA have proved time and time again that they were here to have fun and have a laugh, but also ultimately trying their hardest to make a change in the increasingly disturbing and frightening world we live in.

Turbo Polka Party is out now via Napalm Records.

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